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The Rural Voice, 1987-06, Page 12FARM ROLLOVERS Spectattztng to transJerrtng farm assets to . . . • Children • Outside parties • Partners • Grandchildren THE FINANCIAL CENTRE 122 The Square Goderlch 524-4464 1-800-265-5503 Big Bear SERVICES INC. WET BREWERS GRAIN Or WET CORN DISTILLERS can help your feeding program by: • Providing a protein supplement • Extending roughage supplies, protein and palatability to stover diets • An excellent rumen stimulant • Available in full and split load Tots —Larger Quantities— Storage Prices Available For further information on these and other feeds contact: BIG BEAR SERVICES INC. FEED DIVISION 50 Westmount Rd., Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2R5 (519) 886-4400 12 THE RURAL VOICE "LET THE DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST?" Laissez-faire, or "let the devil take the hindmost" politics are all the rage in the 1980s, with people arguing that the market must be left unencumbered to sort out the problems of the world. This kind of thinking is particular- ly in evidence when it comes to dis- cussions about the farm problem. Be- cause it is accepted wisdom that all the problems in farming today are the fault of excessive subsidies, the obvious answer to everyone, particularly city - based media people commenting on the farm crisis, is to get rid of all sub- sidies and let the market sort things out. Oh, they acknowledge that this will mean hardship for a large number of farmers, but in the long run we'd be doing farmers a favour, getting them off the land. And in the meantime, why should the city -dwelling taxpayer continue to pay subsidies to keep un- needed farmers on the land? I would be all for this philosophy if it were to be carried out across the board by our governments. Let's, for instance, allow people in the cities to pay the full cost of keeping those cit- ies going. Currently we're paying a good deal to keep a major city like Toronto habitable at all. While it may already seem ridicu- lous that an average house in Toronto costs twice as much as a 100 -acre farm, the cost of living in the city would be even more prohibitive if not for government subsidies and regula- tion of the marketplace. Take, for example, the provincial government regulation limiting rent increases. While the law applies ac- ross the province, it was brought in primarily because rent increases in Toronto were going through the roof. Since the limit was put in place, how- ever, various governments have been plagued with the problem of how to get rid of it. But without the rental ceilings, who could afford to live in an apartment in Toronto? And if people couldn't afford to rent, even more might be looking to buy a house, thereby making the price of houses more ridiculous than it already is. When the words farm subsidy are mentioned these days, farm groups are also apt to mention the fact that Tor- onto commuters who use the GO sys- tem get huge subsidies. And there are similar subsidies for the transmit sys- tem and for the disposal of the moun- tains of garbage the city produces. If the provincial and federal gov- ernments were to withdraw their in- fluence from city life, the cost of living would soar so high that there would be hardship for millions of people — though in the long run, maybe it would be the best thing for these people. Certainly it would be the best thing for all of us who live outside the "golden horseshoe." If the cost of living were to make Toronto untenable, maybe smaller towns all across the province would share a little of the gravy that has made the south-central extremity of the province so comparatively rich. Maybe desperate industries would start looking to relocate in cheaper areas. Maybe well-educated professionals would say that the security of working for big corporations in Toronto didn't offer enough rewards anymore, and they'd decide to get out of the city, even if it meant having to start their own businesses to provide work for themselves. If farm subsidies are just trying to put a patch upon a patch upon a patch of a leaky farm economy in order to keep a way of life alive, then urban subsidies are a desperate attempt to keep the money machine of the big city operating to the benefit of high rollers. Farm subsidies should stop the day we stop subsidizing cities to keep them habitable.0 Keith Roulston, who lives near Blyth, is the originator and former publisher of The Rural Voice.